Nighttime Photos?

[mom2ja2]

I'm in the final countdown for our first ever trip to DW. We are so excited!
I really want to get some great pictures. I'm pretty handy with my camera - a Canon Reble SLR.
Any tips on how to get great night shots of the castle, fireworks, parades? Do you lug your tripod with you? Do you just have really great film? (and if so, what film would you recommend?) From experience I know I can only hold the cameral steady at about 1/60th - anything slower and I've got a blurry mess.

What are your secrets?

Thanks so much !

 

[missminniemouse]

Try holding your camera next to a post to help steady it. I've been able to snap pictures hand held at about 1/4 of a second, so I'm pretty steady, but 1/60th is about normal. I even use a post to steady the camera from time to time.

 

[MissionMouse]

Hand holding a camera under low light conditions is not recommended.

There are a variety of methods or expeditant methods you can attempt to apply and practice perfects them...but nothing is more reliable than a tripod.

Overall, a tripod is the most reliable method or a monopod (not for fireworks) with experience. You do not want your camera to move or vibrate. Shooting with a lense with an aperture rating of 2.8 or lower is best (fast lenses), but you will typically want to shoot with a higher aperture setting to get a good range of depth of field. Using a shutter speed below 1/30 is where a tripod is a must and even earlier depending on the lenses focal length. There is always movement (people have trouble even holding still for 1/60 of a second within a photo) so don't be misled perceiving you can shoot less than this speed without a tripod or stablized platform. You may also purchase a cable release to depress your photo button to eliminate your finger from touching the camera...sometimes the act of pushing the shutter button with your finger is enough to create a blurred photo or a photo missing sharp clean lines.

Also, if you are inexperienced I would recommend you bracket your shots (non-fireworks) since you are using film and cannot view your results on site at the time of the photo. While this will 'eat' film it may mean the difference between getting the shot and missing it all together.

Fireworks...people typically shoot any speed film ranging from ISO 50 to ISO 200.

Exposure settings may require setting your shutter speed to BULB, additionally set your f/stop to the following:
ISO 50 film . . . . . f/5.6 or f/8
ISO 64 film . . . . . f/5.6 or f/8
ISO 100 film . . . . . f/8 or f/11
ISO 200 film . . . . . f/16

People often depress the shutter button upon hearing the initial explosion and close it after the round has disappeared in the sky. Continuous and aggresive fireworks presentations will pose a challenge in determining how long to keep the shutter open.

the list of things goes on but you can reference fireworks photography to review a variety of sources too...typically provided by professional photography institutes.

Good luck

 

[shaylahc]

I had pretty good luck shooting in TV mode.

 

[Steph H]

Wow, MissionMouse. Will you come to my house and teach me how to use all those fancy settings on my camera?

I took LOTS of night pics at WDW earlier this month, and the only success I had was when I propped the camera on a post of some kind and then held it still as CAREFULLY as I could while depressing the button. That's how I got this shot, which is really the only good one I got at night.

It's a little crooked, even after I tried to rotate it in Photoshop, because the post wasn't completely level on top. I swear, next time, I'm thinking about packing the tripod!

Best of luck to you!

 

[mom2ja2]

Wow. Thanks everyone. Missionmouse, I am printing this off and taking it. I for sure will bracket, but having a jumping off point is so great. And heck, I was going to use 800 speed film - I have a couple rolls of 100 I can try.
Thanks again everyone!

 

[yearlightbuzz]

Another way to get a slower handheld picture is to purchase an IS (image stabilizer) lens for the rebel. WARNING: My IS lens cost 2x the amount of the camera. Once you get used to it, you really enjoy it. The cheaper option is to get a 50mm 1.8 lens for less than $100. Good Luck.

 

[MissionMouse]

I think most people perceive they need fast film to shoot fireworks but you have to remember the fireworks are actually very intense light and what you really want to capture are the geometric patterns they create and the color.

The other thing about night time shots is being aware of moving objects. Sometimes you can create creative photos...using the item in motion to create a level of atmosphere while other time you are creating art rather than a typical photo. At the same time moving objects may also negatively impact what you desired to achieve in the photo.

Overall, the longer the shutter is open the less likely you are in obtaining sharp lines when items are moving either by natural reasons like wind, man made like motors, vibration sources, or just people crossing the path of your lenses target. Take lots of pictures, bracket and experiment. Some items can actually disappear or look like ghost depending on the amount of time your shutter is open...you can use this sometimes to your advantage. Bracketing night time rides like the tea cups will produce you a series of photos illustrating different levels of motion (blurry ghost image) providing a level of excitement and motion.

If you have not shot night time photos before on film, I would recommend shooting a roll or two before hand and make notes what you did with each. You will also get an idea how some of your cameras features work and behave in low light situations (i.e., auto focus, LIGHT METER, depth of field settings, etc. Be very concerned about the strongest light source since it will create burned out sections on your photograph if you do not measure the light variations within your composition. You may want to research how to measure light for night time sources on the Internet to learn the methods associated with film cameras. Following some of these tips will allow you to have an idea at Disney how you want to shoot a particular subject or situation with a level of confidence. You might even find it handy to keep a small flashlight with you to quickly find things and check camera settings.